The Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) on Energy between the United States and Republic of Iraq met in Baghdad on February 5th, 2014 to reiterate their mutual cooperation on protecting and strengthening Iraq’s energy infrastructure.
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Dr. Hussain Al Shahristani chaired the meeting with U.S. co-Chairs Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman and Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs at the State Department Carlos Pascual.
Both sides stressed the significance of Iraq’s future energy sector development and the valuable role Iraq plays in international markets by providing a steady flow of petroleum. Improving the protection of critical energy infrastructure and oil from terrorist attacks or natural disasters was also discussed along with supporting Iraq’s efforts and capacity to harness its vast natural gas resources.
To achieve these goals a new working group under the JCC will be formed to focus on combining mobile power generation technologies with reduction in gas flaring. Additionally, the US Department of Energy and Department of State will work together with Iraq to develop approaches to protect Iraq’s energy infrastructure.
The Republic of Iraq and the United States put forth a commitment to convene the next JCC on Energy in Washington, D.C., at a date yet to be specified.